When the news came down on Tuesday that Hunter Biden had been found guilty of the gun-related charges against him, the cast of Jose Diaz-Balart Reports only did what comes naturally to MSNBC: hype his father as the “embodiment of the rule of law” and promote his re-election campaign.
Donald Trump did not fire legal analyst Andrew Weissmann or his boss, Robert Mueller, when he was president, but that did not stop him from oozing, “One, the son of the sitting president was pretty quickly tried. He was given due process and he was found guilty. And you have the current president, the father of the defendant, making it absolutely clear that he is not pardoning him, that he could have ordered at any time his Justice Department to get rid of this case, he did not do that.”
Speaking of Trump, Weissmann added:
What is the big picture here? It's not a drug addict who possessed a gun for two weeks. It is that you have a president of the United States who is living embodiment of the rule of law, even with respect to his only living son and you can really contrast that to the former president's denigration of the rule of law, every single time he's found guilty in a criminal case or found liable in a civil case, including sexual assault and fraud, he says the system's rigged against him. I think that that, to me, is the really strong contrast between the two views of the institution of the justice system, whether it's civil justice or criminal justice that I think it's speaking to me very loudly about the impact and the import of this case.
Former Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill concurred, “Yeah, you know, contrast is everywhere and I hope that those voters that will make a difference, particularly in the swing states, are paying attention to the contrast. You had Donald Trump giving a speech over the weekend that was bizarre, a rant about sharks and nonsense and then you had President Biden at a cemetery in France celebrating those heroes that gave their lives to fight tyranny and support freedom of the world.”
She added, “And now here's another contrast and as Andrew pointed out, and others have pointed out, you have a president who doesn't interfere, doesn't pardon his friends, doesn't lambast the rule of law even though he had the power to stop this prosecution against his own son.”
McCaskill also took the opportunity to accuse Republicans of hypocrisy:
There is another irony about the prosecution, and that's the law itself that he was prosecuted under. It's certainly true that people generally are not prosecuted under this statute unless it's in connection with other wrongdoing, but it's also true that many of the Republicans, and one could argue that most of the most rabid Trump supporters don't even think this law should exist. They do not believe anybody should have to tell the federal government anything when they buy a gun. They think it's none of the government's business who they are or what they're doing if they want to purchase the gun under the Second Amendment.
Chief political analyst Chuck Todd also got in on the Biden 2024 promotion, “I think it is possible that there's a contrast here that the public may see how Trump and his partisans handle the rule of law versus how Biden and how his partisans handle the rule of law and I’ll be honest, I am-- this is one of those cases where I don't think it's brought if Biden is not president of the United States.”
Would Trump’s business records case have been brought if he wasn’t running? MSNBC wasn’t interested in finding out. Instead, Todd continued, “In some ways, we may look back on this and say he was held more accountable because of who he is, and not less accountable because of who he is, not less accountable because of who he is.”
Towards the end of the program, McCaskill returned to throw Melania Trump and Jill Biden into the conversation, “People that they purport to love, members of their family, were accused of crimes that did involve moral failings and in one trial, the sitting first lady showed up for her son, her loved one. The other trial, Melania was AWOL... So, I think that's another contrast that probably will sit with America in a way that will remind people the stark differences between the way these two men view the world and view their responsibilities as president.”
Throughout MSNBC’s initial coverage, Diaz-Balart was the only one to reference the original sweetheart deal and that was only when he read Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer’s statement. Nobody thought that angle was worthy of further discussion.
Here is a transcript for the June 11 show:
MSNBC Jose Diaz-Balart Reports
6/11/2024
11:24 AM ET
ANDREW WEISSMANN: You know, I'm less interested in the particulars of the case. This is a gun charge. The proof was overwhelming. I agree with your other panelists that it is rarely charged, in my experience: over 21 years at the Department, I never saw a case like this brought. It would normally be somebody who was a felon in possession of a gun that would be charged. I’m more interested in what it tells us about the rule of law in this country in two ways.
One, the son of the sitting president was pretty quickly tried. He was given due process and he was found guilty. And you have the current president, the father of the defendant, making it absolutely clear that he is not pardoning him, that he could have ordered at any time his Justice Department to get rid of this case, he did not do that.
He said he's not planning on pardoning him as well and I really think that if you look at the case, what is the big picture here? It's not a drug addict who possessed a gun for two weeks. It is that you have a president of the United States who is living embodiment of the rule of law, even with respect to his only living son and you can really contrast that to the former president’s denigration of the rule of law, every single time he's found guilty in a criminal case or found liable in a civil case, including sexual assault and fraud, he says the system's rigged against him. I think that that, to me, is the really strong contrast between the two views of the institution of the justice system, whether it's civil justice or criminal justice that I think it's speaking to me very loudly about the impact and the import of this case.
…
CLAIRE MCCASKILL: Yeah, you know, contrast is everywhere and I hope that those voters that will make a difference, particularly in the swing states, are paying attention to the contrast. You had Donald Trump giving a speech over the weekend that was bizarre, a rant about sharks and nonsense and then you had President Biden at a cemetery in France celebrating those heroes that gave their lives to fight tyranny and support freedom of the world.
And now here's another contrast and as Andrew pointed out, and others have pointed out, you have a president who doesn't interfere, doesn't pardon his friends, doesn't lambast the rule of law even though he had the power to stop this prosecution against his own son and I have to tell you, I understand the heartbreak that Joe Biden and his entire family must be feeling.
This is an addict who has admitted his addiction in the most public ways and to go through what he went through over the last week, to have it so painfully brought out on the stand, but once again, Joe Biden sat quietly and let the rule of law operate and, of course, there will be no pardon here, which Joe Biden could do. He could pardon his son.
So, it is a real contrast between these two men and how they view what many would argue, and I would certainly argue, is that the most important institution in our country, and that's that the law applies to everybody and it's fair and it is done by jurors from the community who weigh the evidence, the facts that aren't political, just facts.
I want to make one other point. There is another irony about the prosecution, and that's the law itself that he was prosecuted under. It's certainly true that people generally are not prosecuted under this statute unless it's in connection with other wrongdoing, but it's also true that many of the Republicans, and one could argue that most of the most rabid Trump supporters don't even think this law should exist.
They do not believe anybody should have to tell the federal government anything when they buy a gun. They think it's none of the government's business who they are or what they're doing if they want to purchase the gun under the Second Amendment, so there's that on top of that and I have noticed the Republicans have not spent a lot of time on this trial over the last week. In fact, some Republicans, including Trey Gowdy who works for Fox News came out and said this is a case that should not have been brought, and even Lindsay Graham said this is not a case that should have been brought, so I feel bad for the family, but the facts were the facts and the evidence is the evidence and he was convicted as he should have been.
…
CHUCK TODD: I think it is possible that there's a contrast here that the public may see how Trump and his partisans handle the rule of law versus how Biden and how his partisans handle the rule of law and I’ll be honest, I am-- this is one of those cases where I don't think it's brought if Biden is not president of the United States. You know, this is one of those things where if Biden had chosen not to run in 2018, I doubt Hunter Biden's ever prosecuted for something like this. In some ways, we may look back on this and say he was held more accountable because of who he is, and not less accountable because of who he is, not less accountable because of who he is.
…
MCCASKILL: Well, there's a reason why Jill Biden probably had sunglasses on. She was probably crying and there's another contrast for you. We have two first ladies, a former first lady and a current first lady. People that they purport to love, members of their family, were accused of crimes that did involve moral failings and in one trial, the sitting first lady showed up for her son, her loved one. The other trial, Melania was AWOL. She was not there to support Donald Trump in connection with his moral failings in terms of his affair with a porn star just after she had given birth to their only child. So, I think that's another contrast that probably will sit with America in a way that will remind people the stark differences between the way these two men view the world and view their responsibilities as president.
